This invention relates to the protection of patients using wheelchairs and gurneys in hospitals, nursing homes and residences against diseases transmissible through contact with wheelchair and gurney surfaces. In particular, the invention relates to protective material layers interposed between such surfaces and the skin or apparel of patients sitting in wheelchairs or lying on gurneys.
It has been observed that in many hospitals the most used transportation devices for patients, such as wheelchairs and gurneys, are never routinely washed or cleaned between patients. This means that there is an everpresent possibility of residual body fluids, such as blood and urine, or skin particles from one patient to adhere to wheelchair and gurney surfaces which come in contact with the next patient.
A layer of impermeable material interposed between the patient and the surfaces of the wheelchair or gurney will provide protection for the patient. Accordingly a search of U.S. patents in that field was undertaken.
Only patents for various wheelchair covers and shields for protection against surroundings and weather were found, as follows:
U.S. Pat No. 4,389,057 to Richard, Jr. (1983)
U.S. Pat No. 4,693,289 to Taylor et al (1987)
U.S. Pat No. 5,168,889 to Diestel (1992)
U.S. Pat No. 5,170,826 to Carstensen (1992)
U.S. Pat No. 5,921,258 to Francois (1999) and
D430,079 to Catron-Batts (2000).
No patents were found relating to protection of the patient against possible disease from contaminated surfaces of wheelchairs. Accordingly, the following objects for a protective interposed layer were developed.
1. To protect users of wheelchairs and patients on gurneys from health hazards.
2. To provide renewable protection for successive users and patients which is medically safe.
3. To provide protection which stays in place and cannot be slid off by users and patients as they enter or leave the wheelchair or gurney.
4. To provide protection which is disposable.
5. To provide protection which is inexpensive.
6. To provide protection which is easily installed; and
7. To provide protection which is straightforward to use.
To implement the objects stated above, the instant invention of the Renewable Wheelchair and Gurney Protection System has been devised. The basic concept is to provide a renewable protector made of a thin impermeable sheet material so shaped as to cover all the surfaces of a wheelchair or gurney which come in contact with a patient. The patient is thus isolated from the bare surfaces of the wheelchair or gurney. After use by one patient the used protector is discarded and replaced by a new protector.
To provide a fast renewable protection system for multiple users, an assembly of identical protectors is fabricated end-to-end into a continuous roll, with lateral perforations dividing one protector from the next for easy removal and renewal of protectors. Such a roll is analogous to the rolls of end-to-end plastic bags for fruits and vegetables in supermarkets.
The roll of protectors is placed inside a cylindrical protector storage tube with an axial slit through which the end-to-end protectors can be pulled out, one after the other. The tube, loaded with the roll of protectors, is then mounted horizontally across the bottom longitudinal frame of the wheelchair or gurney, underneath the seat of the wheelchair or platform of the gurney.
The tube is so positioned that each protector, when pulled out and up far enough, is exactly aligned to cover the seat or platform completely. Also, to anchor each protector, means are provided for the top of each protector to engage the top of the wheelchair or gurney, which avoids any possibility of the protector slipping off its conveyance and exposing the patient to a bare surface.
The embodiment shown here includes storage tube attachment assemblies which mount the storage tube detachably at two locations to a pair of parallel longitudinal bottom frame bars. In this way there is provided a portable wheelchair and gurney protection system which can be moved from one wheelchair or gurney to another. The renewable protection system thus consists of 1. a roll of end-to-end wheelchair or gurney protectors, 2. a protector roll storage tube, and 3. a pair of storage tube attachment assemblies.
For the wheelchair version the protector sheet reaches over the top of the back. The folded-over portion attaches to the rear of the wheelchair back by two adhesive back stickers, one near each lateral extremity. Also, two lateral flaps in the protector cover the left and right sides of the wheelchair and, further, extend over the sides. On each side an adhesive side sticker in the folded-over portion attaches the latter to the underside of the portion of the flap nearest the wheelchair occupant. For storage in the roll, the flaps are folded up toward the center, and later folded out for use.
For the gurney the protector is a straight longitudinal sheet covering the platform and headrest with an open pocket at its upper end fitting over the top of the headrest to anchor the protector.
The embodiment of the storage tube shown comprises two half-cylindrical shells detachably attached to each other to form the storage tube. The upper half-shell is detached to allow the protector roll to be loaded into the lower half-shell, with consecutive protectors pulled out through a dispensing slit in the upper half-shell, when the two half-shells are re-attached to each other to form the closed storage tube.
The lower half-shell incorporates two longitudinal attachment slots near its extremities at the bottom. The storage tube attach assemblies attach the lower half-shell through these slots to the pair of bottom frame bars of the wheelchair or gurney. In the embodiment shown here, each attach assembly comprises an inverted U-bracket with bolt holes through which bolt-and-nut connections attach the U-bracket to both the lower half-shell and the pair of bottom frame bars.
With the present embodiments or others to achieve the same functions, the invention of the Renewable Wheelchair and Gurney Protection System offers advantages which include:
1. Storage tubes with rolls of renewable impermeable sheet-like protectors can be easily attached and detached by means of simple attach assemblies;
2. Rolls of protectors can be easily removed from and replaced in the storage tubes;
3. Individual protectors are dimensioned to cover completely the surfaces which a patient would contact when using a wheelchair or gurney;
4. Protectors are kept in place by engaging components of the wheelchair or gurney and so cannot be slid off by users;
5. Used protectors can be separated from the roll at pre-designed perforations and disposed of;
6. Replacement protectors can be speedily pulled up from the roll for the next user; and
7. The total system of tube, roll, and attach assemblies is inexpensive to fabricate, simple to attach to and detach from a wheelchair or gurney, takes up little room and is portable.